The Moondrop HORIZON is 32Ω at 94.1 dB/mW; the Moondrop PARA is 8Ω at 80.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The PARA needs 14.1 dB more than the HORIZON to reach the same loudness — 100 mW against 3.9 mW.
| Specification | HORIZON | PARA |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 32 Ω | 8 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 94.1 dB/mW | 80.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 109.0 dB/V | 101.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 3.9 mW | 100 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.35 V | 0.89 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 11.0 mA | 111.8 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 4.00 Ω | 1.00 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 130 |
150 of the 280 sources have the power for the HORIZON but not for the PARA — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 147 more.
12 sources are low enough in output impedance for the HORIZON under the one-eighth rule but not for the PARA (FiiO KA13, FiiO K11, Schiit Vali 2+, 9 more).
130 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The PARA is more demanding than 100% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the HORIZON than 79%.
| dB SPL | HORIZON power | HORIZON voltage | PARA power | PARA voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.04 mW | 35 mV | 1.0 mW | 89 mV |
| 85 | 0.12 mW | 63 mV | 3.2 mW | 0.16 V |
| 90 | 0.39 mW | 0.11 V | 10 mW | 0.28 V |
| 95 | 1.2 mW | 0.20 V | 32 mW | 0.50 V |
| 100 | 3.9 mW | 0.35 V | 100 mW | 0.89 V |
| 105 | 12 mW | 0.63 V | 316 mW | 1.59 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, HORIZON | Headroom, PARA | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 17.1 dB | 0.9 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| JDS Labs Atom+ (2nd gen) | $99 | 24.1 dB | 4.0 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.99 µV |
| FiiO KA15 | $109 | 16.7 dB | 1.6 dB | 0.8 Ω | 1.7 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 130 reach 100 dB on both. 53 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.
The cheapest of the 53 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 17.1 dB of headroom on the HORIZON and 0.9 dB on the PARA, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 4.00 Ω and 1.00 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 26 dB and 34 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| HORIZON | 20Hz-34kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20Hz- 20kHz (IEC60318 4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| PARA | 15-53kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “20Hz-34kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20Hz- 20kHz (IEC60318 4, -3dB)”, for the HORIZON and two ranges, “15-53kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the PARA.
Both sheets print a tolerance, which is rare enough to be worth pointing at: only 58 of the 490 models with a printed range do. These two ranges can be set against each other, because each of them says how far down the response is allowed to be at the ends.
Not a measurement; maker by maker.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Moondrop HORIZON and Moondrop PARA. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.